This Oyster Bay Estate Still Houses Teddy Roosevelt’s African Safari Trophies & Presidential War Room

Sagamore Hill, Long Island NY

When Teddy Roosevelt needed a break from being president, he came home to Sagamore Hill. His Long Island mansion wasn’t just a house, but a place where kids ran wild, global leaders made deals, and a lion skin rug had a story behind it. Here’s the full tale of America’s most action packed presidential home.

A House Built for Family

The original Sagamore Hill house contained exactly 22 rooms before later additions. Roosevelt hired the New York architectural firm Lamb & Rich to design a shingle-style Queen Anne home in 1884.

John A. Wood and Son of Lawrence, Long Island finished building the house in 1885 for exactly $16,975.25. Roosevelt first planned to name it “Leeholm” after his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee.

When Alice died in childbirth in February 1884, Roosevelt changed the name to Sagamore Hill after Sagamore Mohannis, an Algonquin chief who had lived in the area during the 1600s. “Sagamore” means chieftain or tribal leader in the Algonquin language.

The first floor had an entrance hall, library (Theodore’s study), drawing room (Edith’s study), dining room, pantry, and kitchen. The second floor held family bedrooms, while the third floor contained maids’ bedrooms, a trunk room, school room, governess’s room, linen closet, and Gun Room where Roosevelt kept his many firearms.

Roosevelt wanted a spacious piazza (covered porch) facing west and south. He needed a place to sit in rocking chairs and watch the sunset over Long Island Sound.

The Family Who Called It Home

In 1886, Theodore married his childhood friend Edith Kermit Carow, and they moved into Sagamore Hill with Alice, Roosevelt’s daughter from his first marriage.

Theodore and Edith had five children of their own: Theodore Jr. (1887), Kermit (1889), Ethel (1891), Archibald (1894), and Quentin (1897). Three of these children—Theodore Jr., Kermit, and Ethel—were born at Sagamore Hill itself.

Roosevelt took his lively children on “point-to-point” walks across the property, teaching them outdoor skills like shooting, rowing, riding, and animal care. These activities showed Roosevelt’s own belief in the “strenuous life” and his love for outdoor adventure.

Mealtimes at Sagamore Hill brought the family together. The children had to be on time and show good manners, especially when guests visited. If late, they waited until the family finished and ate at a small table in the kitchen.

Even when dining alone, the family dressed properly for dinner. The boys stood when their parents or any ladies, including their sisters, entered the room.

Theodore Jr. later said that “mealtimes at Sagamore Hill were the best education I had.” Talks ranged from current events and history to politics, books, and the children’s activities.

Edith’s Kingdom

While Theodore’s big personality captured public attention, Edith Roosevelt ran household affairs at Sagamore Hill with quiet skill.

Edith used the Drawing Room as her office, keeping careful financial records. She tracked household spending, paid bills, and managed investments for the family. Theodore himself admitted he was “hopeless with money,” once telling a friend that every morning Edith gave him twenty dollars, but he could never remember what he spent it on.

Each morning, Edith met with the cook to plan meals for the day. During Roosevelt’s presidency, kitchen staff sometimes prepared four separate lunch settings to feed the family, White House workers, guests, and household servants.

Edith brought order to every part of life at Sagamore Hill. She even stitched the linens with “R of S” (Roosevelts of Sagamore) to tell them apart from other Roosevelt family linens when sent out for washing—a practical fix since several Roosevelt families lived in Oyster Bay.

For short breaks from her many duties, Edith would escape to a rose arbor she had built near the home to read in peace.

The North Room Takes Shape

In 1905, during his presidency, Roosevelt added the North Room, designed by architect C. Grant LaFarge, son of the famous artist John LaFarge.

This grand addition measured 40 by 30 feet with tall 20-foot-high ceilings. The North Room cost $19,000 to build—more than the entire original house—and increased the total room count from 22 to 23.

The North Room’s exterior stands out with a large golden Presidential eagle on its outer wall. Inside, the room was built with mahogany brought from the Philippines, which was then an American territory.

Roosevelt used this big space to show off his hunting trophies, gifts from foreign officials, artwork, and books. A large alcove on the western side held hundreds of volumes from Roosevelt’s collection of over 10,000 books.

The room became the center for hosting important visitors during Roosevelt’s presidency, offering plenty of space for gatherings and meetings that the original house lacked.

Summer White House

Sagamore Hill gained fame when it became known as the “Summer White House” during the seven summers (1902-1908) of Roosevelt’s presidency.

Roosevelt made history as the first president to work away from Washington D.C. for long periods. Earlier presidents had taken short vacations, but none had run the government from their homes.

To make this possible, workers ran a telephone line from Oyster Bay to Sagamore Hill on poles through the woods. Roosevelt embraced this fairly new technology, which had only been invented in 1876, making him one of the first presidents to use telephones for government work.

During these presidential summers, so many visitors and reporters came to see Roosevelt that in 1905, workers extended the piazza toward the southwest to create a speaking platform for his many public talks.

The piazza marked key moments in Roosevelt’s political career. It was here that he learned of his nominations for governor of New York in 1898, vice president in 1900, and his presidential election win in 1904.

Bringing Nations Together

Sagamore Hill became an important place for world affairs during Roosevelt’s presidency, hosting many foreign officials and diplomatic meetings.

The most important diplomatic success linked to Sagamore Hill was Roosevelt’s work to end the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. This fight between Imperial Russia and Japan had started in 1904 over disputed territories in Manchuria and Korea.

In 1905, Roosevelt arranged peace talks between Russian and Japanese representatives. The Japanese team included Ambassador Takahira Kogorō, while Russia sent Count Sergei Witte as chief negotiator.

Roosevelt welcomed these delegates at Sagamore Hill before they boarded the presidential yacht, The Mayflower, to sail to the talks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

On September 5, 1905, they signed the Treaty of Portsmouth, officially ending the Russo-Japanese War. For his efforts, Roosevelt became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, securing his place as a world leader.

Other notable visitors to Sagamore Hill included author Edith Wharton, politician Henry Cabot Lodge, and many world leaders who sought Roosevelt’s advice on global issues.

Life Beyond the White House

Roosevelt owned exactly 155 acres at first but sold parts to relatives, keeping 95 acres for Sagamore Hill as his main home.

After leaving the White House in 1909 at just 50 years old, Roosevelt returned to Sagamore Hill. Though no longer in office, he stayed active in politics and continued his adventurous lifestyle.

He soon left for a nearly year-long African safari, collecting more than 11,000 specimens for his personal collection and the Smithsonian Institution. These adventures showed his lifelong passion for natural history and conservation.

In summer 1912, Associated Press reporter William P. Helm visited Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill, creating the first film footage ever taken at the estate. This historic film shows Roosevelt checking mail with his son Archie and walking the grounds of his beloved home.

That same year, Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully for president as the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party candidate after failing to win the Republican nomination.

During his final years, Roosevelt’s health began to fail. He returned to Sagamore Hill on Christmas Day 1918 from Roosevelt Hospital in New York where doctors had treated him for sciatica, a painful condition affecting the sciatic nerve that causes pain in the lower back and legs.

The Man Who Shaped America

Beyond his personal tie to Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt left a lasting mark as the 26th President of the United States.

As a pioneer of conservation, Roosevelt saved hundreds of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. He created five national parks, 18 national monuments, 51 federal bird sanctuaries, and started the U.S. Forest Service.

In dealing with other countries, Roosevelt developed smart approaches based on balance of power, interdependence, and deterrence. His famous saying, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” showed his belief in staying militarily strong while seeking peaceful solutions.

During World War I, Roosevelt pushed strongly for U.S. entry into the fight. He even asked to lead a division in Europe, which President Woodrow Wilson refused, likely due to Roosevelt’s ongoing political influence and criticism of Wilson’s early neutral stance.

Three of Roosevelt’s sons served in World War I: Theodore Jr., Archie, and Quentin. His youngest son, Quentin, died in aerial combat in July 1918 when German fighters shot down his plane over France.

The grief over Quentin’s death hit Roosevelt hard. Edith later believed it had “taken the fight out of her husband,” adding to his declining health in his final months.

The Final Chapter at Sagamore Hill

Theodore Roosevelt died peacefully in his sleep at Sagamore Hill on January 6, 1919, at age 60.

Roosevelt passed away in the Gate Room, a second-floor bedroom that had once been used for the Roosevelt children. The room got its name from the wooden gate across the doorway that kept young children from falling down the stairs. Roosevelt was using this room as a sick room because it was warmer than his regular bedroom.

His personal attendant, James Amos, a young African American man who had worked for Roosevelt since his White House days, noticed Roosevelt breathing heavily in his sleep around 4:15 a.m. Amos went to call a nurse, but when they returned, the former president had already died.

Doctors reported the cause of death as a blood clot in the heart, though some modern medical experts suggest it may have been a coronary embolism or pulmonary embolism.

Vice President Thomas Marshall famously remarked: “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.” This comment captured Roosevelt’s legendary energy and fighting spirit.

Roosevelt was buried at nearby Youngs Memorial Cemetery after a simple service at Christ Church in Oyster Bay on January 8, 1919. His hillside grave looks out over his beloved Oyster Bay.

Keeping History Alive

After Roosevelt’s death, Edith continued to live at Sagamore Hill until her death in 1948 at age 87. During these nearly three decades, she kept the house much as it had been during Roosevelt’s lifetime, making few changes to the property.

The Roosevelt Memorial Association (later renamed the Theodore Roosevelt Association) formed in 1920 to preserve Roosevelt’s memory and legacy. One of the group’s main goals was to buy Sagamore Hill as a memorial site.

Edith Roosevelt at first resisted turning the house into a museum, but after her death, the association purchased Sagamore Hill from the Roosevelt heirs.

On July 25, 1962, during John F. Kennedy’s administration, Congress established Sagamore Hill National Historic Site to be managed by the National Park Service. The following year, Congress officially approved it.

Sagamore Hill earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

More recently, Sagamore Hill closed for about four years (2011-2015) for major restoration work to preserve the historic structure for future generations.

In 2005, astronomers discovered an asteroid and later named it 218679 Sagamorehill in honor of Roosevelt’s home, with the official naming announced in 2020.

Visiting Sagamore Hill

Sagamore Hill is located at 20 Sagamore Hill Road in Oyster Bay, New York, about an hour’s drive from New York City. The site is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM, with the last house tour starting at 4 PM.

Admission costs $10 for adults, while children 15 and under enter free.

House tours are guided and last about 45 minutes, taking you through Theodore Roosevelt’s family home with original furnishings and personal items.

The Old Orchard Museum, located in Roosevelt’s former home as ex-president, requires a separate ticket but is often included in combination packages.

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